Search the Community

For a couple of weeks now, I've really enjoyed Stephan's reviews of movies. After listening to him talk about the "The Godfather", It struck me that I am 25 years old and had not seen all three parts of "The Godfather" trilogy. So in do fashion I set about finally watching all three but had the nagging thought that there is similarity between the fictional characters of Vito Corleone (Marlin Brando) and his son Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) and the real life politicians Ron Paul and Rand Paul. In the first film, we see the patriarch (Brando) of a crime family getting older and having problems transferring the families "business" to his son's due to other crime families starting a gang war. Ultimately, the business is taken over by his youngest son (Pacino) who promises his wife he'll be out of the "business" in around five years. In my mind, I found this story similar to seeing the elder congressman from Texas, making his last days in office and running for president and eventually retiring as his son in Kentucky enters the political world as a senator, who's term with last about five years. (yes, I know senators have 6 year terms, but humor me hahaha) The second film, we see flash backs of younger Vito Corleone (Robert DeNiro) struggling in to make an honest living in the streets of New York, until he turns to a life of crime, overthrows the neighborhood thug and begins to reap the financial rewards in his new life of corruption. I compare this to Ron Paul's struggling political career running for office as a Libertarian, but he then decides to that if he was going to benefit the rewards of winning elections he would have to join corruption and run as a Republican and there he stayed. In the third film, we see an aged Michael Corleone on the verge of finally turning the Corleone family into a legal business. A meeting is called of the major crime families, when it is learned that Michael his leaving the life of crime with one last dirty deal with a Swiss banker for the Vatican, but the rest of the crime families are angered that they won't be getting a cut in Michaels last cash cow of dirty deals. And like the fabled crabs in bucket, the other families start another gang war that pulls the Corleone family back into the fray. This last part I see has a possible outcome for the young senator from Kentucky. After he succeeds in joining a life of corruption (politics) he'll inevitably be pulled back into the bucket of crabs. Especially, if he's able to get his own cash cows of dirty deals a.k.a. elections. I'd like to read your opinions of political life parodying motion picture art.